College basketball: Ave Maria men honor late Emily Acosta through run to NAIA tourney

Ave Maria University President Jim Towey and Vice President for Student Affairs Kim King talk about the feeling on campus after the death of junior Emily Acosta on Wednesday.
Alex Driehaus, Naples Daily News

In what has been a trying few weeks for the Ave Maria University athletic program, the men’s basketball team has provided a positive respite during a time of grief.

The Gyrenes family lost one of their own when Emily Acosta, the starting point guard for the women’s basketball team, was killed in a car crash not far from campus Feb. 20.

With Acosta’s No. 23 jersey featured prominently on their bench, the men’s basketball team made history by winning the Sun Conference Tournament and qualifying for the NAIA Division II national tournament for the first time with an 83-67 victory over the College of Coastal Georgia.

Perhaps fittingly, that win came on the 23rd day of February and was the Gyrenes’ 23rd victory of the season – which matched the school record set in the 2012-13 season. The seventh-seeded Gyrenes (23-8) take on Southeastern University (Kan.) at 1 p.m. in the first round of the tournament Thursday in South Dakota. The single-elimination tournament goes through Tuesday, March 12.

“Having Emily’s jersey on the bench was a great reminder about her still being there for us,” Ave Maria junior Leo Behrend said. “She always played so hard but more importantly, she always played for her team first. And that’s what I’ll always remember about her, she put the team above everything and that’s what we try to do.”

Behrend, who leads the Gyrenes in scoring (19.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.5), said he knew Acosta well.

“We had a really good respect for one another and we were always talking hoops when I saw her,” he said. “I think we both respected how we each played the game.”

Ave Maria men’s coach and athletic director John Lamanna said he was happy his team could provide the school with a lift during what was probably the toughest week in the history of the Gyrenes’ athletic program.

“It was such a difficult week with what transpired with Emily,” he said “Our campus is so tight knit, it’s a small school and pretty much all the students live on campus in the dorms. So everybody knows everybody, and everyone loved Emily. She lived such a joyful life and it’s an honor we’ve been able to represent her this way. She definitely would have been thrilled to see this.”

Lamanna is in his fourth year coaching the Gyrenes, and the coach has experienced his share of growing pains in what had previously been a moribund program.

Coming into this season, the Gyrenes had posted just two winning seasons in their first 10 years of existence. Lamanna’s first three years were a struggle, with the Gyrenes going 16-69 as Lamanna completely rebuilt the program. But with several key players – including Behrend – taking a redshirt year last year, the coach was confident this year’s team would experience success.

“We did have expectations that we’d be much improved, just how much was the question,” Lamanna said. “I felt we were going to be significantly better. Everything started last spring. Once the season was over, from spring workouts to where we are today, I really saw the level of our commitment improve. With everybody returning and also adding a few pieces to the puzzle, I thought we could make some noise, and it’s all come together for us.”

Behrend said the Gyrenes aren’t content on just making the tournament for the first time. He said they expect to win games and advance.

“We don’t feel we’re done, not by a long shot,” he said. “I think we’ve really changed the culture here. Obviously, Ave Maria hoops didn’t have such a great reputation in the past, but we think this is the start of something special here. We expect to be here from now on.”